When Paramore canceled six shows in Europe due to personal strife back in 2008, fans feared a possible breakup. If the gap between 2007’s Riot! and its follow-up brand new eyes is any indication, the band has taken its time to craft its internal anger into a mean, solid record.

Album cuts such as “Ignorance” and “Careful,” featuring slamming guitars and hard-hitting lyrics, retain and amplify Paramore’s aggressive sound.

Their anthemic tracks in the vein of “That’s What You Get” are also present; “Brick By Boring Brick” and “Looking Up” will be new stadium arena staples for the band. The only setback is that these tracks are also inferior to their counterparts. The hooks in “Ignorance” are simply angry and aren’t as catchy as “Misery Business” and “crush crush crush.” Although they both have disparaging lyrics, the latter also have irresistible, infectious melodies. Those songs are still stuck in the heads of many after two years, but the tracks on brand new eyes do not share that same feeling of longevity.

The most exciting part of the album is lead singer Haley Williams. Paramore has always been an original band, mostly because its lead singer is a woman in the sea of boy pop-punk groups in the same genre (the band members were initially wary of selecting Williams as their lead singer). Yet, Williams also has arguably the best voice out of all her competition. A red-haired, fiery ball of energy, she brings flawless vocals and pure emotion to every song. On the Evanescence-sounding track and album highlight, “All I Wanted,” Williams pulls off her best Amy Lee impression. Featuring her finest vocal to date, the track is easily one of the gems of Paramore’s entire repertoire.

Despite the band’s inability to match the greatness of their previous effort, brand new eyes remains a solid offering from Paramore. Let’s just hope that they can work out their problems, because there is still growth possible for the relatively young ensemble.